Interested in a new international destination for your family? What about Italy? Kim Hancher takes us on her fabulous adventure full of family-friendly fun in Italy in La Garda, the Dolomites, and Veneto. It was a perfect itinerary for her family. In case you’re wondering this was a trip that included her 8-year old twins.
This post highlights three areas we traveled to for family-friendly fun in Italy during summer vacation a few years ago. The Italian Lakes, Mountains, and Countryside make for an amazing trip with young kids. There is no jam that pizza, pasta, or gelato can’t get you out of with your kids and there is plenty of wine for the adults. It was a magical trip – we remember and reminisce about it often.
A Family Adventure in Paris
There were no direct flights from San Francisco to Italy, so we went through Paris and decided to stay a few days before we started the family-friendly fun in Italy. Score! I love Paris but realize it’s a very adult city. These few days were really for me, and I loved every second of it.
We rented an apartment through Airbnb in the Marais District within a stone’s throw of the Bastille. It was amazing to sit in the window of the apartment and witness the hustle and bustle of the city streets below. The air conditioning and washer dryer weren’t bad either.
Our three days in Paris were jam-packed. We did a Fat Tire tour of The Eiffel Tower. I highly suggest this tour which skips the line and heads straight to the top. The tour guides also provide the inside scoop on the structure, its history, and point out all the amazing things you can see from the pinnacle of the Tower.
We also took a riverboat tour on the Seine. From the comfort of the open-air boat, we saw numerous sites from a different perspective (including the beautiful Notre Dame). I feared this was going to be cheesy and touristy, but it was fun to be on the water and off our feet for a bit.
Then the Louvre. Unfortunately, the Egyptian Scavenger Hunt kids tour wasn’t being offered on the days we were there. But our Fat Tire Closing with the Line Mona Lisa tour leader, Lilia, made up for any disappointment. She engaged the kids and made the tour exciting. As an added bonus, this is the last tour of the day, so crowds were thinning out. It ended at the Mona Lisa, where we were able to get a close-up view of Da Vinci’s masterpiece. Genius! Not once did my children complain about hunger, fatigue, or boredom.
On our last night, we had dinner with a Parisian family we know. The adults caught up while our kids played. Despite them not knowing how to speak each other’s language, they had a blast!
Time to start the family-friendly fun in Italy: First stop La Garda
We took a quick flight to Milan via Orly (a second airport for Paris). We picked up our rental car at the airport — a beautiful little Benz sedan (fortunately my husband knows how to drive a stick shift). This was our primary means of transportation for the next 2.5 weeks and we were off to start the family-friendly fun in Italy!
Side note: Several months after we returned home we received two speeding tickets. Electronic speed traps are set at the entrances to many small towns along Italian highways. First-timers like us come upon the towns with a bit too much speed (Italian signage is hard to interpret), and the next thing you know a ticket arrives in the mail. They are riddled with fees and a pain in the neck to pay – avoid this if you can.
Our first Italian destination was: Lake Garda. We rented a small apartment from Fabio. Not The Fabio but definitely a name worth mentioning. We stayed in a small town called Torre del Benaco and our apartment had a lake view. Torre, as the locals refer to it, was quaint, with cobblestone streets, great cafes, bakeries, gelato shops, and a centuries-old church. We spent our time there at the lake beaches. We took a ferry to the other side of Lake Garda to a town called Moderna and toured around there a bit one day.
If you want to have a lake experience I highly suggest seeking out one of these smaller lakes and towns versus Lake Como. We did not meet one American during our visit to Lake Garda, it was very family-friendly, and the crowds were small.
It was also in Torre that I had my first Aperol Spritz, ever. Each time I have one now, I’m transported back to Lake Garda.
To the mountains we go
I was a bit dubious about this leg of our trip, but it ended up being my favorite part. Don’t you hate when you’re wrong about things like that? We ventured from Garda to the mountains arriving in Sesto, a small town in the Dolomites. We met up with some friends here and we all stayed at The Berg Hotel, a family-run resort. Our room was in the Zurim, the newest section of The Berg.
We arrived just in time for cake hour, which happens each day at 3pm. The hotel included breakfast and dinner. It was kind of like the Love Boat in that we had a set table in the dining room for the week and the same waitress who we grew to love. The food was amazing and it was so nice to not have to find a dinner spot each night. Our days were filled with hiking, biking, and touring. Everything was family-friendly with baked-in fun for kids and adults.
Highlights in the Dolomites were: Tre Cime – a nine-hour hike that begins in Austria and ends in Italy that provides a spectacular view of three mountain tops. (You know it’s an epic hike when you cross international borders.) It felt like I was on the set of The Sound of Music. There were huge meadows full of wildflowers with snowcapped mountains in the background. I could hear Julie Andrews singing her heart out. There were plenty of warming huts and breaks along the way on this all-day adventure.
We spent another entire day in the town of San Candido. You want to talk about family-friendly fun in Italy! We did the FunBob Al Baranci, which is a downhill toboggan ride that is equal parts terrifying and fun. The entire mountain that housed the FunBob was transformed into a playground with a ropes course, tubing, a gigantic jumpy house, and in true European style, a giant bar for the adults so they could have a drink while watching their children play.
Everything about this region was beautiful. The fresh mountain air, the cool temps which is a perk when you’re vacationing in Italy during the summer, and of course our hotel. I cannot say enough about The Berg Hotel and our hosts. And it was reasonably priced! We did extra tours, spa days, drinks, and outings that were charged to our room. When we checked out the total was so shockingly low that my husband told me to go start the car before they figured out they had undercharged us. Not to worry, all charges were on the bill. This family-run resort really cares about delivering a memorable stay for all guests. And they truly did for us.
Last Stop – Veneto
We were so sad to leave the Dolomites, but reservations called so we took off to our next stop, the tiny town of Baone in Italy’s Veneto region. Family-friendly fun in Italy isn’t complete without time at an agriturismo, one of the functioning farms found throughout Italy. I highly recommend adding this to your itinerary. You stay on a property that has some sort of agricultural component, such as a vineyard, and you get to partake in the fun that happens as part of an agricultural business. In this case, we stayed at Ca’Orologio, a winery, and we did wine tasting. You can sign me up for that all day long.
Some places have working farms so you help with the animals, others offer cooking classes at properties that grow food. It’s pretty cool and the ultimate way to get family-friendly in Italy. Do your research to make sure it’s a fit for your family. The adventures are all optional and most offer breakfast and/or dinner as an option, which is nice.
We took a day trip to Venice (about a 45-minute train ride from Baone) and met up with our tour guide, Carmen. She is a part of a company called Traveling Curious which has locals lead tours. Venice was a scene, filled with throngs of people from across the globe. St. Mark’s Square was shoulder-to-shoulder, as were the winding streets along the canals. Fortunately, Carmen had some local knowledge and a few short-cuts, so we felt lucky to have her by our side. She shared a ton of history about the origin of Venice, the different buildings, and the topography. We learned so much and made great use of our time there. I’m never going back to Venice – too touristy, crowded, and hot for me – so I’m glad we saw it this way.
During the remainder of our stay in the Veneto, we visited the surrounding sites. We saw St. Anthony’s Cathedral, the Scrovegni Chapel which contains Giotto’s frescoes, Petrarch’s House in the Town of Aqua Petrarcha, and got a glimpse of Italian college life at the University of Padua. And we spent our final day in Italy soaking in the hot mineral springs in Galzignano Terme – a relaxing way to end our trip.
One last night of adventure
As I was packing up on our last night, preparing for our early morning departure, I spotted a very large bright green grasshopper in our room. Being in the middle of a vineyard, bugs are part of the deal, but this was like a small aircraft. It was on the handle of an electric water pot and the length of the lid—he was HUGE. I screamed, and in came my husband. He urged me to get in the shower while he got rid of the varmint.
When I returned, the grasshopper was gone, but I didn’t trust the way my husband described the elimination of the bug. I went to bed skeptical, only to be awakened at 3 am by a strange sound and splat of something landing on my face and tickling my cheek. Yep, the grasshopper had hit the ceiling fan and been thrown down to the bed, onto my face. After a full-blown wrestling match in our bed, my husband secured him in a bag and put him outside of the apartment. I was up for the rest of the night and that is how my long day of travel home began.
The long trip home
Luci: Momma, I don’t feel well.
Me: It’s OK Sweetie. Just take deep breaths. Looong slow breaths.
Luci: I’m going to throw up.
Me: Here, aim for this ‘barf bag’ – it’s placed here for times just like this.
Next thing I know, Luci slaps the bag out of my hand and launches her lunch all over herself, her backpack, and my linen pants. My husband and Luci’s twin were unscathed, safely located on the other side of the aisle.
This was not a moment of family-friendly fun on our trip. And it was the first leg of our long journey home: Milan to Paris to San Francisco. Luci and I exited the jetway into Charles de Gaulle’s international terminal reeking of pre-teen vomit. CDG’s international terminal has a great gift shop with lots of kids’ clothing items. Luci picked out a snazzy Paris St. Germain soccer kit that she wears to this day. I wasn’t so lucky. It was going to be me in my ‘barf pants’ for the next 16 hours of travel. It was a disastrous end to an amazing trip, but one we reminisce about often.
And if you’re wondering, I never wore the barf pants again. Some things you just can’t come back from.
In addition to being a travel enthusiast, Kim Hancher helps 40+ women create their unique style and dress their body type so that they feel confident doing something you have to do every day, get dressed. To find out more, head to www.kimhancher.com.
You can find more itineraries and helpful travel tips for families on the travel section of the Mompowerment website.
